A Proud Day for Black America, and for the Rest of the Nation, Too

A Proud Day for Black America, and for the Rest of the Nation, Too

By JIM DWYER

In a city of fiercely private spaces, people wanted to plant their flags in the moment, but not in solitude.

Aurora Burke and her sister Wilma Marshall found that they had arrived too late to watch the inaugural ceremony at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture on 135th Street in Harlem: a few minutes after 11 Tuesday morning, every seat and spot to stand in the auditorium was taken.

The sisters quickly changed course and headed to the plaza outside the state office building on 125th Street, where a giant television screen and speakers had been set up. “Even with the cold,” Ms. Burke said, “it’s too important to do alone.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE [NYT]

WNED: Harlem celebrates Obama’s historic moment (2009-01-20)

Harlem celebrates Obama’s historic moment

(2009-01-20)

By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York’s historic black neighborhood of Harlem brimmed with joy on Tuesday as Barack Obama took office as America’s first black president.

Elated crowds filled theaters and churches and jammed sidewalks to watch the inaugural festivities televised from Washington, bursting into cheers each time the new president appeared on the screen.

In the streets, car horns blared in celebration.

“I wouldn’t miss this for nothing in the world,” said Erika Greene, a security guard who watched the ceremony on a large outdoor television screen set up on 125th Street, one of the neighborhood’s main thoroughfares.

Harlem, in uptown Manhattan, has long been the heart of the city’s black culture and home to generations of black artists, writers, politicians and activists.

“We’ve bled, we’ve fought, we’ve done it,” Greene said. “This is our time.”

Tears streamed down Sabrina Grandison’s face as she watched Obama take the oath of office on the large outdoor television screen.

“I’m overwhelmed,” she said. “This is such a joyous occasion.”

Vendors hawked every bit of memorabilia imaginable, from lightswitch plates decorated with Obama’s picture to homemade bean pies, dubbed “Obama pies” for the day.

More than a thousand people filled the historic Apollo theater, where the inauguration was shown on a large screen. A chorus of loud “boos” erupted at the sight of outgoing Vice President Dick Cheney.

Outside, the chilly winter temperatures did little to spoil the party atmosphere.

“I could have watched it at home,” said Sherry Watson, an education consultant from New York’s Bronx borough, who watched the ceremony outdoors. “But it’s such a momentous occasion that I wanted to be with a lot of people, to be in the mix.”

The historic nature of the occasion brought Janet Bingham, a mortgage specialist from the Bronx, out to brave the cold.

“People helped all along the way, civil rights workers, runaway slaves, people who rebelled,” she said. “Everyone past and present played their part to help a day like this come to fruition.

“It’s a new day,” she said.

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

COURTESY OF PBC

Jazz Pianist Monty Alexander To Perform At Birdland January 21st – 24th

Jazz Pianist Monty Alexander To Perform At Birdland January 21st – 24th

By jazzman • Jan 21st, 2009

Event:
Jan. 21st-24th, 2009
(8:30 pm & 11:00 pm)
Birdland
New York, NY

Acclaimed Jamaican jazz pianist Monty Alexander will perform four nights at Birdland, 315 West 44th Street, Manhattan, from Wednesday, January 21 through Saturday, January 24. The first two nights will feature his classic jazz trio lineup, and the second two nights will feature his “Jazz and Roots” ensemble with both a reggae and jazz rhythm section working together. There are two sets per evening, at 8:30 p.m. and 11 p.m and tickets are $30 and $40.

Location:
Birdland Jazz Club
315 W. 44th Street
New York, NY
(212) 581-3080
www.birdlandjazz.com

COURTESY OF ALLYOURJAZZ

RAP FOR ‘BIGGIE’ ACTOR

RAP FOR ‘BIGGIE’ ACTOR

By JOE MOLLICA and ALEX GINSBERG

January 21, 2009 –

A Brooklyn rapper who’s hit the big time playing hip-hop legend Biggie Smalls in the new movie “Notorious” is getting some unwanted notoriety.

Jamal Woolard, 33, was busted last year for allegedly slapping his wife inside their East New York home, The Post has learned.

According to court papers, Woolard, who raps under the name Gravy, was charged with misdemeanor assault, menacing and harassment in connection with the Sept. 14 incident.

Woolard’s wife, Trina Younger, called police following an early-morning altercation sparked by Woolard’s late return home, said a source familiar with the police report.

The victim told police she dared Woolard to hit her, the report says.

The paperwork also indicates that Woolard admitted responsibility, allegedly telling cops, “She wouldn’t stop pushing me, so I snuffed her.”

The rapper’s mother-in-law, who is staying with the couple during the film’s opening weeks, said she was unaware of any domestic-violence incident.

“I know he wouldn’t hit her,” said Roslyn Younger. “He’s not like that. Most definitely, they have a good relationship. That’s impossible. I think it’s made up. He’s a loving husband and I never heard of anything like that before in my life.”

Neither Woolard nor his wife, who have been married seven months but together for five years, could be reached.

Woolard’s lawyer, Cory Walker, of the Legal Aid Society, did not return a call seeking comment.

It’s an unusual case for the Legal Aid Society, which normally handles the cases of those defendants too poor to hire their own attorneys.

Pat Bath, a Legal Aid Society spokesperson, did not return a call seeking an explanation.

In 2006, Woolard was himself the victim of an assault when he was shot in the buttocks outside Hot 97’s radio studios in Manhattan while arriving to do an interview. He went ahead with the interview.

He’s received generally good reviews for his spot-on portrayal of Christopher Wallace, the slain rap legend known to millions as Biggie Smalls and the Notorious B.I.G.

Woolard spent weeks before production working with an acting coach, a choreographer and a vocal coach to help him mimic the 6-foot-3, 300-pound Wallace’s every nuance and tic.

In interviews, Woolard has said that people who knew Wallace – including Sean “Puffy” Combs – found the resemblance so uncanny they had to leave the set.[NYP]

Blaxploitation IS COMING BACK

Black Dynamite’ goes to Sony overnight

Blaxploitation movie a potential franchise for the studio

By Steven Zeitchik and Jay A. Fernandez

Jan 19, 2009, 12:17 PM ET

“Black Dynamite”

More Sundance coverage

PARK CITY — A heated overnight negotiation yielded a rare studio purchase at Sundance early Monday as Sony Pictures scooped up the blaxploitation movie “Black Dynamite” for an estimated $2 million.

The studio is said to see the movie as a potential franchise along the lines of “Austin Powers” or “Friday,” with a big marketing spend planned when the movie releases in the second half of the year.

Endeavor repped the filmmakers in the sale, with agents talking in multiple rooms to Sony execs in the agency’s condo after the film’s raucous 11:30 p.m. premiere Sunday. The deal closed at 6 a.m., making it the first overnight sale of this year’s fest.

Scott Sanders directed and John Steingart produced and financed the 1970s-set picture, which centers on a campy story of drugs, violence and a powerful, mysterious figure who goes by the name Black Dynamite.

Other deals are expected to close in the next 24 hours as buyers continue to negotiate on the Ashton Kutcher dramedy “Spread” and Lone Scherfig’s period romantic comedy “An Education,” both of which are drawing strong interest.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i895f97f5ddfbe655576492ed2d0779dc